Asphalt vault



W. E. SHEENE Nov. 3x 1925.

ASPHALT VAULT Filed May '7. 1924 Y I l gmwro lll i@ E; E www fg M d fbQM/,f A

Patented ov. 3, 1925. i

UNITED STATES WILLIAM E. SHEENE, F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 THE ASPHALT GRAVE 1,560,106 PATENT OFFICE.

'VA'ULT COMPANY, A CORPORATIN OF MARYLAND. f

ASPHALT VA'ULT.

Application led May 7, 1924. Serial No. 711,518.

I To all whom it may concern.'

a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Asphalt Vaults, of which the following is a specification.

Numerous attempts have been made to produce a permanent moisture-proof burial vault or container to receive and enclose a coffin or casket to be buried in the earth, the object being not only to exclude moisture but to permanently protect and preserve the coin and the body.

To this end the structure must not only be water-proof but non-corrosive and suliciently rigid to permanently resist the ressure of the earth. j Such containers ave been made from metal, Portland cement, concrete with or without reinforcement, and from metal lined or filled with asphalt, the asphalt being between two metallic casings or walls.

The Portland cement concrete is not eective because while it is reasonably permanent, it is porousand not water-proof, and

the entrancebf moisture results in decay which cannot be long deferred. The metallic vaults are not permanent, none of the available metals being sufficiently non-corrosive. The vaults which have been described as made of asphalt between metal walls or in some instances enclosed between iwalls of wood, are subject to substantially in accordance withthe specic-ations is necessarily soft and relatively fluid, owing to its fluidity soon leaves the inner container or casing exposed to decay or corrosion,

' which takes place as certainly as with metal or wooden vaults, though the decayA may be deferred `for several years.

The present invention relates t0 an asphalt vault or more particularly to an asphalt or bituminous mastlc .for the \manufacture of a vault meeting all the require-- ments of the conditions presented, i. e., a vault for enclosing a casket and body to be buried in the earth and having sulcient rigidity toresist` permanently the pressureF of the earth, and being absolutely moistureproof.y In my co-pending application Ser. No. 711,519, I have described and claimed plete the structure.

"a reinforcing frame for an asphalt vault, Be it known that I, lVILLIAM E. SHEENE,

the same being coated with asphalt to com- In the present application I have described 'and claimed an asphalt vault, the claimsbeing specific to such a structure composed of asphalt which is sutliclently rigid to resist the earth pressure when suitably reinforced, claiming .the constituents, properties and features of the vault as dependent upon the k lasphaltic material.

The mastic which is the subject of the invention 1s cast upon a metal frame or reinforce which shapes and supports the structure, the important featuresof the mastic are that in addition to being capable of bemg melted, poured and molded to advantage, it is, when set, sutliciently hard to ad- Y I here tothe frame and to resist and support the pressure of the earth, upon the frame,

spanning the meshes of the reinforce and A force and a permanent protection to the casket and body, and the mastic is at the same time absolutely vand permanently moisture-proof, so that the most hydroscopic and sensitive substances may be placed on the bottom of the container or vault, and the vault can be submerged for a long period i without evidence of the hydroscopic substances thus exposed having been `in any way attacked by moisture.

In the preferred form the' mastic consists of a high melting point asphalt mixed with limestone dust, fullers earth or infusorial earth and sand or grit. In some instances slate dust has been used instead of limestone dust. In preparing ,the composition I preferably use a blown asphalt which may to best advantage be made of petroleum or'petroleum residue heated and blown until the volatile portions are p-ractically eliminated or oxidized, and until the resulting material has a melting point appreaching 285 Fahrenheit when it will also have the desired property of rigidity whenmixed with the appropriate ingredients and permitted to set or harden and subjected to the earth temperatures and pressures `under burialconditions.v A California orMexican petroleum or residue thus treated is found satisfactory. The preferred proportions are 16% bitumen or asphalt as above, 34% limestone dust, fullers earth or infusorial earth, and.4 50% of sand or other suitable grit. The materials and proportions may be varied to a considerable degree, and a flux which does not unduly interfere with the hardness `of the material when set may be used. 1

The materials stated above are mixed together and cooked, or preferably separately heated, and then mixed and further heated until they form a paste or mortar'capable of being poured and mlded.l Treatment at a temperature of 4500-Fahrenheit. has been found advantageous.

A' suitable reinforce having the shape of the vault or rather two separate reinforcing .members, one having the shape of the vault and the other. 'having the shape of a cover,

are placed .in molds and the material is poured, hardening in the desired form.

illustrated the essentials of a vault embodying m invention in the preferred form.

In t e drawing- Figure 1 is a longitudinal -vertical section showing the vault enclosed and buried in the ground, thecoiiin. being indicated therein in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the cover reinforce; and

Figure 3 is a section vlil`iggure 2. .f

A Referring to the drawings by numerals, each of` which is used to indicate the same or similar parts in the different gures, the

onthe line 3, 3 of illustration includes a vault 1 of asphaltA mastic adapted to enclose asingle coin or casket 2, and a cover 3, also of asphalt mastic, the vault and cover being reinforced by means of metal frames 4 and 5, respectively, embedded in'and protected by the mastic. The contact between the vault and cover is closed and sealed by suitable'sealing means 6 of softer bitumen or asphalt adhering to adjacent asphaltic surfaces of the vault and cover, making the structure, when closed permanently, air and moisture-proof at all points, which is believed to be a result.

not previously attained in burial containers of this general type;A

More particularly the vault reinforce consists of longitudinal angle irons 8 extending along the top edges of each side, transverse an leV irons 9 extending across the bottom an up each side, and end angles 10 extending vertically across the ends and turned under the bottom, so that they crossthe transverse angles 9, the depending flanges of the end angles being cut away at 11 to pass the transverse angles. The vertical angles IO and the transverse angles 9' are connected by reinforcing rods or wires 14 which are in turn connected by upright Wires orrods 15, the intersections in all instances vbeing preferably spot-welded or otherwise fastened.

In the form shown the wires are omitted at the bottom and there is a plate 16 which may be turned up at vthe edges at 17, and which reinforces the entire bottom, f the plate being preferably separate from the other reinforce.` Y.

The cover reinforce consists of angles 18 extending longitudinally at the sides and transversely at 19 at the ends, the members 18 and 19 being preferably formedv in a ,single piece, the transverse anglesf20 and longitudinal and transverse. wires or rods 21 and 22. i

The cover' and vault are formed by placing these frame members in suitable molds,

'pouring and removing the mold members. l

lutely moisture-proof but is sufliciently In the accompanying drawing I have hard whensetto resist the pressure of the Iearth on the vault between the rigid reinforcing members, being absolutely non-fluid at earthtemperatures and therefore retaining its form and protecting the frame and reinforce permanently without 'yielding lin any way.

The term burial conditions, as used here-l bodying the features of my invention in the preferrediorm inorder that the nature and operation of the same may be clearly understood; however, the specific terms herein are used descriptively and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

What I claim and desire .to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A moisture-proof burial vault tobe i' lburied in the ground to enclose and preserve a casket and "the'body therein, the vault structure having`l Walls composed' of bituminous mastic consisting of linfusorial earth a casket and the body therein, the vault.

forming a permanent struc- I having walls composed of bituminous mastic consistin of mfusorial earth, grit and bitumen, the itumenhaving a melting point of approximately 285 Fahrenheit and the mastic being hard and non-Huid at earth temperatures and pressures, and a frame em. bedded in the mastic and protected thereby, reinforcing the Walls.

3. A moisture-proof burial vault to be.

buried in the ground to enclose and preserve a casket andthe body "therein, the

vault structure having Walls composed of a mastic consisting of bitumen having a melting point of approximately 285 Fahrenlieit and being more than one-half composed of filler, and a frame embedded in the mastic and protected thereby, reinforcing the Walls, and forming a permanent structure at the temperatures and pressures to which it is subject under the conditions of burial.

4.-. A moisture-proof burial vault adapted to be buried in the ground to enclose and protect a burial casket and the contents, the

vault having a frame and being otherwise composed of bituminous mastic, the frame being embedded inl and protected by the bituminous material which is permanent,

l y non-fluid and substantially rigid at the y and substantially rigi filler, the mastic containing approximately `16% bitumen, 50% gritty material and 34% of other filler.

6. A burial vault adapted to enclose a coin or casket and to be buried in the ground, the same comprising a metallic reinforcing fra-me covered by and enclosed -Within a hard asphalt mastic, non-fluid at earth temperatures, consisting of bitumen having a high melting point yand a filler, 'the vmastic' containing approximately 16% bitumen, 34% fullers earth and 50% grit..

7. A container for a casket to be buried in the ground, the same consisting of a vaultv and a cover, both being molded of hard asphaltic material and a seal of softer asphaltic material connectin the vault and cover, and adhering to a jacent asphaltic surfaces ofthe vault and cover.

8. A moisture-proof burial vault adapted to be buried in the ground, to enclose a burial casket and the contents, the vault having a fra-me and bein otherwise composed of bituminous mastlc, the same consisting of approximately three-fourths filler and one-fourth bitumen, the frame being embedded in and protected bythe bituminous material which is ermanent, non-fluid at earth tempera tures and the pressures to which it is subjected under ordinary burial conditions.

Signed by meat Baltimore Maryland this 15th day of April,'1924a WLLIAM E. SIUEENE. 

